Exploring art events in and around NYC

January 2010

01/28/2010

Cheim & Read has two great photo exhibits happening concurrently - Diane Arbus' In the Absence of Others and William Eggleston's 21st Century. Arbus' black and white photographs feature "empty interiors and artificial landscapes spanning the 60s" while Eggleston's recent works focus on color and composition in interior and exterior scenes shot in Cuba, California, Paris, Memphis, New Jersey, and Queens.

Diane Arbus (1923-1971), best know for her documentary portraits of people from the margins of society like carnival performers, nudists, transvestites, and the institutionalized, created intensely intimate images infused with an air of mystery and melancholy. Her amazing works of empty rooms, unpopulated hotel lobbies, and deserted Disneyland and Coney Island attractions evoke a similar, quiet, haunting aura.

William Eggleston's (born 1939 in Memphis, TN) vibrant photos demonstrate his "painstaking attention to formal concerns such as color saturation and pictorial composition..." (from the show's press release). Eggleston has described his technique as "applying intelligent painting theory to color photography." This definitely seems to work for Eggleston as he somehow manages to make simple, ordinary objects appear extraordinary.

Learn more about In the Absence of Others and 21st Century at Cheimread.com. Both shows run through February 13th.

01/27/2010

London-based artist William Daniels is known for creating trompe l'oeil pieces that depict "famous art historical paintings." His lengthy process begins by making models of "the source paintings out of simple materials such as paper, cardboard or aluminum foil which are then photographed to serve as models for painstaking detailed facsimiles in oil paint" (from the show's press release). These small-scale and muted works act both as still life and "a rendering of the original work."

For his first solo show in New York, Luhring Augustine presents a series of new, abstract oil paintings on board. For this series, Daniels created original works by building "dioramas out of reflective foil" and using these as his models. He lit the foil forms in several different ways to "achieve variations in palette" creating "complex compositions of brilliant color and pure form." As the press release states, "every plane, fold and crease is so precisely rendered as to suggest a certain precious quality" to his foil models.

Born in Brighton, England in 1976, Daniels has created small-scale paintings that are so vivid, unique and intricate that someone may attempt to render them some day. Learn more at Luhringaugustine.com. Through February 6th.

The Corners of the Sea, her first solo exhibit at Julie Saul Gallery, presents portraits of a woman and a man shot to suggest a "sense of
intimacy, quiet, and stillness." Kim then slices into the portraits with "'actions' taken
from comic books" showering her female model with what appear to be gentle waves of water.

Her sweeping landscapes
of Reykjavik, Iceland, and Dubrovnik, Croatia were "photographed to describe
two different cities and ways of looking - one from a stationary position,
while the other is taken by traveling along the wall that circumnavigates
the city." Densely-populated, seaside towns have sections of their architecture cut out, dramatically emphasizing shape, light, and shadow. Two photos of a green, lofty mountain have detailed forest scenes meticulously carved into them.

Born in South Korea in 1969, Kim moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and received her MFA in critical writing, art and film from the
California Institute of the Art. The Corners of the Sea is Kim's "premier exhibition on the East Coast" but judging by her impressive, skillful works, it certainly won't be her last. Learn more at Saulgallery.com. Through February 27th.

01/25/2010

I'm a fan a mid-century design, and a major figure in that period is architect/designer Eero Saarinen. The Museum of the City of New York has a comprehensive survey of Saarinen's work featuring models, films, photographs, documents (his high school yearbook and passport), sketches, drawings, and samples of his famous furniture designs. Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was a celebrated and controversial architect who lent his unique vision and space-age, mid-century style to some unlikely clients like corporate headquarters, universities, and airport terminals.

Saarinen "sought to expand modernism's vocabulary beyond what he called 'the measly ABC'.... He also frequently moved away from simple, abstract compositions in favor of exuberant visual effects and historical references" utilizing "new materials, innovative construction techniques, and sculptural forms" (from eerosaarinen.net). Saarinen believed in a "total environment" and through collaborations with friends and associates, his works successfully "synthesiz[e] architecture, landscape, and interior design." Though Saarinen was surprisingly criticized for "inventing a new style for every job" (that's a bad thing?), "his diverse and sometimes unabashedly theatrical designs attracted powerful clients who played pivotal roles in trends that transformed the culture of the time."

Born in Finland in 1910, Saarinen's creative family emigrated to the United States in 1923. His father, Eliel, was a world-renowned architect, his mother, Louise, was a textile designer and sculptor, and his older sister, Eva-Lisa, was a designer and interior decorator. Eero graduated Baldwin High School in Birmingham, Michigan in 1929. He studied sculpture in Paris at the age of 19 and received his BFA in architecture in 3 years from Yale, graduating one year early in 1934. After graduation, Saarinen traveled the world, visiting architectural landmarks in Europe, Egypt, and Mexico. Early in his career, Saarinen worked alongside his father until the elder Saarinen passed away in 1950. One of their most successful projects was their "1939 winning submission for the prestigious Smithsonian Gallery of Art to be built on the Mall in Washington, D.C." which unfortunately was never realized. As if he wasn't busy enough, Saarinen also collaborated with designer Charles Eames and created some iconic pieces of furniture.

Saarinen understood "architecture’s value in creating a company’s image, often using new building technologies to help brand forward thinking corporations." Eero Saarinen and Associates based in Bloomfield, Hills, Michigan (which was rumored to be open 24 hours, 7 days a week) "designed the first mirror glass curtain wall and the world’s thinnest exterior wall panel. Saarinen also pioneered, and ultimately mastered, the development of a new office typology: the corporate campus. Occupying pristine rural settings, these business complexes reinvented the traditional country estate and the American college campus in terms of modern corporate programs, similarly evoking power and authority." General Motors Technical Center in Warren Michigan, completed in 1956 and composed of 25 buildings, was Saarinen’s first example of this model [IBM's Manufacturing and Training facility in Rochester, Minnesota (1956-58) and Deere and Company's Administrative Center in Moline, Illnois (1957-63) followed]. For college campuses, like Yale, Vassar, and Brandeis, Saarinen sought "to balance student comfort and privacy with amenities that encouraged social interaction."

Probably best known for works like the United States Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (or the St Louis Gateway Arch), JFK’s Trans World Airlines Terminal, Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport Terminal, and New York City's CBS Building (his only completed skyscraper at 38 stories), as well as his pedestal tables and chairs, Saarinen has undoubtedly created some of the 20th-century's most iconic structures. His designs have stood the test of time and are still breath-taking today. It's hard to imagine how progressive and extraordinary his works must have seemed back when they were first introduced. Eero Saarinen was a daring, visionary, brilliant talent. Learn much more at eerosaarinen.net (where I found most of the info for this post) and mcny.org. Ends soon on January 31st.

01/21/2010

"Light and Space" was a minimalist art movement based in Los Angeles, California during the 1960s that emphasized "surface, synthetic materials, industrial processes, and perception." David Zwirner currently has on view a fantastic group show featuring rarely seen works by ten prominent artists of this movement. The brilliant works presented in Primary Atmospheres: Works from California 1960-1970 are composed of unconventional materials featuring "translucent, reflective, or ethereal surfaces," (from the show's press release). The pieces' "luminescent use of color and light characterize them as uniquely Southern Californian." The west coast artists "were reacting to local concerns with light and atmosphere, often evoking the qualities of the bright Los Angeles sunlight and the shiny, finished surfaces of the city's ubiquitous signs and automobiles."

Below I've summed up some of the artists' methods and techniques according to the show's press release, followed by pics of their works. As you'll see, these amazing pieces speak for themselves.

-De Wain Valentine, Helen Pashgian and Peter Alexander "experimented with casting polyester resin in different formats, creating works which explore the material's ability to both contain and reflect light." It's amazing to see how different each artist's results are - though they all share a definite sleekness.

Larry Bell made a series of glass and metal cubes that "explore the relationship between the sculptural object and its surrounding environment." He created a special "vacuum-coating technique to achieve semi-reflective exteriors" that bring viewers in by reflecting all that's around them.

Robert Irwin, James Turrell, and Doug Wheeler all started off as abstract painters. They "developed practices which employ light and indeterminate space to extend and disorient the visual experience." Their "environmental installations... explore the physical, sensory, and temporal aspects of the architectural space." These works are eerie, other-worldly, and ethereal.

Doug Wheeler, Untitled, 1969 - Wheeler's piece is part of a group of "light paintings" called Light Encasement series which he started in 1965. His light paintings "consist of large squares of plastic, with neon lights embedded along their inside edges that blur the distinction between the work of art and its surrounding context."

My pictures don't do these works justice. As minimal and simple as these works may seem, they make bold and elegant statements. This is an extraordinary show. Check it out if you can. Learn more at Davidzwirner.com. Through February 6th.

01/20/2010

Self-taught, Los Angeles-based photographer, Alex Prager's current show Week-End at Yancey Richardson features "constructed narratives and dramatic portraits" through which "Prager explores a range of female types from vulnerable to powerful, from tragic to tender and from coolly detached to literally playing with fire," (from the show's press release). Finding inspiration and setting her works in her hometown of Los Angeles, the artist has described the city as “A strange picture of perfection… with a sense of unease under the surface of all this beauty and promise.” Her photos can be described in the same exact way.

Prager casts her friends as models and dresses them up in "wigs, makeup and retro costumes." Her subjects look deliciously camp and over-done in polyester outfits, fiery red hair, garish lipstick and nail polish, and spidery eyelashes heavily caked in mascara. The highly stylized and cinematic images depict Prager's subjects "acting" out roles, "most often [as] a solitary figure absorbed in a personal drama" that is happening outside the frame.

Prager's rich, mysterious images are like a sort of technicolor film noir that can have viewers forever speculating what sinister activities her glamorous protagonists are up to. Learn more at Yanceyrichardson.com and at the artist's website alexprager.com. Through February 20th.

01/19/2010

John Connelly Presents currently has a joint show featuring two artists in their early thirties who create energetic, colorful works that hint slightly at childhood, innocence, and naivety.

Connecticut native currently based in Philadelphia, Justin Samson "presents new paintings and sculpture that continue to use science, humanity and minimalism as an influence," (from the show's press release). Samson often employs "found images as source material for his collages and paintings" and simple, crafty-type items, or "mundane materials such as wire, wood, plastic, spray paint and hot glue" to create vibrant sculptures.

Parsons alum, Haejin Yoon "creates lively paintings and sculptures that combine elements of abstraction and figuration." In her current series, "she uses an ambiguous figure that is neither human nor animal. In each work the figure is ominously or playfully suggested by a pair of eyes or hint of limb." The cute and mysterious creature peers at viewers from canvases or in the form of an extra tall and extra slim, green, hand-sewn stuffed figure. Yoon's Green Monster along with Samson's sculpture Jimmy, composed of wood, faux fur, fluorescent lights and a rubber ball, make the gallery space almost feel like a cool and surreal playroom. According to the show's press release both artists' "new sculptural works... further illuminate the balance between the physical, theoretical and emotional states of creativity." Samson and Yoon's fun, colorful, youthful works are a perfect match. Learn more at Johnconnellypresents.com and check out Yoon's cute yet somewhat perplexing website gaegae.com. Through February 13th.

01/18/2010

London-based art organization, Banners of Persuasion, commissioned 13 international artists to venture out of their comfort zone and veer away from their usual mediums to create hand-woven tapestries. "This exhibition actively invites viewers to re-think and re-address this rich and complex historical medium in the realm of contemporary art practice," (from the show's press release). The artists "translated their familiar languages of paint, paper, drawing, collage, ceramics into that of silk and wool and the hand-woven stitch, thus transforming their unique visual language." They tackle subjects ranging from "fictive landscapes, architectural abstraction, fashion and flora and the politics of race, gender, international conflict and the environment." The images range from lush, stylish, and abstract, to thought-provoking and heartbreaking.

The works are striking and vibrant and are definitely not the old tapestries you typically see in cold, dark, musty museum galleries. Demons, Yarns & Tales: Tapestries by Contemporary Artists took three years to bring together and has been shown in London and Miami Basel. The current show at James Cohan is its premiere presentation in New York. Learn more at Jamescohan.com and bannersofpersuasion.com. Through February 13th.

01/14/2010

While you're checking out Latifa Echakhch's show at Swiss Institute, be sure to have a look at the exhibit in the gallery's foyer as well. Grrrr, or Ingo Giezendanner, travels around the world and documents his journeys with "detailed drawings, animations, and public murals," (from the press release). Currently at Swiss Institute are drawings on paper and on the walls that document the artist's travels starting with the railroad tracks in his native Switzerland and then moving on to the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbeidjan in Southwest Asia. Grrrr's drawings feature cityscapes, high rises, store fronts, outdoor cafes, traffic, as well as a few serene images of trees and nature. The Zurich native has certainly filled up his passport with many adventures around the globe, and his intricate, almost picturesque drawings are certainly better souvenirs than any old, ordinary postcard. Learn more at swissinstitute.net and see the artist's website at grrrr.net. Through February 13th.

01/13/2010

French-Moroccan artist Latifa Echakhch creates sculptures and installations that address "nationality, culture, and history" and explore "society in an increasingly globalized world," (from the press release). Her current show at Soho's Swiss Institute, Movement and Complication, references the science of measuring time. "Movement" refers to "a simple watch," while "complication" refers "to any feature beyond the basic display of hours, minutes, and seconds. The more complications, the more difficult it is to design, create, assemble, and eventually repair the watch."

Echakhch's sprawling work Plaintes ("complaints") was inspired by a system of measurements created by Le Corbusier called The Modular. The artist used charcoal to meticulously apply Le Corbusier's eight measures directly onto the walls, resulting in "hand made black strips, at varying heights [that] create an obscure pattern throughout the gallery." For Globus, Echakhch crumpled up three flat maps into round globes and placed the balls on the floor like litter, demonstrating the act of "man manipulating theory into object." Her small wooden sculpture series, HLM, feature brainteaser games "shown in various stages of completion." The title HLM, refers to the housing development in the banlieue of Aix-les-bains where the artist grew up. The small, complex sculptures refer to "the inadequacy of modernism all the while highlighting a near-unsolvable riddle of urbanism."

You can watch Echakhch discuss some of her works in this video from the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art's March 2007 opening group exhibition, Global Feminisms. In the clip, Echakhch explains how she uses "cliche" and "banal" materials like couscous, sugar, carpet, tea glasses, official documents, and airmail envelopes, to create pieces that address her cultural heritage. Born in El Khnansa, Morocco in 1974, Echakhch currently lives and works in Paris and Martigny, Switzerland. Learn more at swissinstitute.net. Through February 13th.